Igus focuses on the development of PFAS-free materials

What do dental floss, skis, a frying pan and plain bearings have in common? They all rely on organic fluorine compounds, also known as PFAS. The special feature: PFAS are insensitive to water, heat and dirt. They help plain bearings to run dry, wear-resistant and lubrication-free. However, as the chemicals can only degrade very slowly, they have a negative reputation. If they get into the environment, this can be potentially harmful to people and nature. Igus is therefore developing plain bearing materials such as the new Iglidur JPF, which do not contain any PFAS such as PTFE.

In February 2023, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published the proposal for a ban on at least 10,000 PFAS. The EU Commission is expected to decide on the proposal in 2025. The PFAS regulation would then come into force in the EU member states in 2026 at the earliest. This ban would have far-reaching consequences for the industry, but also for the consumer sector. Many industrial companies - including Igus - are preparing for stricter PFAS regulations. This is because PFAS, in particular the fluoropolymer PTFE (a subgroup of PFAS), give the motion plastics from Igus a low-friction dry-running properties that makes the use of lubricants superfluous.

Responding to regulation with in-house material development

"We invested in the research and development of alternative materials right at the start of the Europe-wide discussion about a possible ban on the PFAS substance group. With our own material development and compounding, we can react quickly to changes and develop new solutions," explains Dr. Magnus Orth, Head of the Igus Material Center. The result is, among other things, Iglidur JPF.

The new material Iglidur JPF was developed on the basis of the tried-and-tested endurance material Iglidur J, without the use of PTFE. The plain bearing is lubrication-free, wear-resistant and shows similar friction and wear values to Iglidur J in our in-house test laboratory. "Users who rely on Iglidur J in their machines and systems now have an equivalent PTFE-free alternative," says Lars Butenschön, Head of the Iglidur Plain Bearing Technology division. "Our aim is to be able to offer our standard materials completely without PTFE. We are currently in the process of making our formulations for Iglidur X and Iglidur W300 PTFE-free. The initial tests are already very promising."